


Sideline Stories: Bitch-A-Saurus Rex (Kira)

by UnicornAffair



Series: Wild Pitch [9]
Category: Power Rangers, Power Rangers (2017), Power Rangers Dino Thunder
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Powers, Extended Scene, F/F, Softball AU, The Dino Thunder boys are there too, warning there IS a bit of homophobia in this one
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-24
Updated: 2017-11-24
Packaged: 2019-02-06 07:44:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,252
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12812877
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UnicornAffair/pseuds/UnicornAffair
Summary: Life before Angel Grove was rough for Trini...she found a girl that she liked a lot. Only for that to blow up in her face when her homophobic mom caught her in the act. From the perspective of the ex-girlfriend, Kira, breaking up was one thing, but never talking to her again? That was pretty low.For context read up to Chapter 17 in Wild Pitch: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10638636/chapters/23537208





	Sideline Stories: Bitch-A-Saurus Rex (Kira)

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so originally I wasn't planning on this so you all can thank the user jadedsunshine for suggesting that I flip things around and do something from Kira's point of view. It does mean whatever I had planned for Sideline Story #3 will be #4 and so on
> 
> There is a bit of homophobia in this one so warning y'all now. 
> 
> Hope you all enjoy it! :)

Harwood County High School, home of the Monarchs and pride of the purple and white. Jocks, preps, nerds, stoners, goths, punks, band kids, the skater kids, drama club, the hipsters, the chastity club and hell anything in between. As one of the largest schools in the district it was easy for anyone to get lost in the shuffle of cliques and the hectic day to day. It was easier for Kira Ford to stick to herself over buying into the social jungle of High School. Clubs were stupid, athletes were given way too much attention, and at the end of the day...none of this mattered when they would all graduate. Ha, it barely mattered to Kira now.

The musician sat in after school detention just praying for the clock to strike 4:30 so she could get the hell outta there. A girl in the back row with her head down, big white headphones covering her ears, metal music blasting through. This wasn’t the first time the two were in detention with one another. Curiosity, and frankly, boredom had gotten the best of Kira so she walked on back to the other side of the room; tapping at her shoulder until the other girl tilted her head up, glaring at her. Ah charming.

“What?” Annoyed, she paused her music, if one could even call it that, and removed her headphones. Tough, Kira couldn’t tell if it was just an act, or just over compensating being so short.

“Revocation” Kira recognized the metal band blaring through mystery girl’s ears, “You’ve got some pretty hardcore taste” She took it upon herself to take the seat in front of hers, now that they were having a good chat going. Her company still seemed unamused that she was staying, “You know just because you’re wearing headphones doesn’t mean the rest of the room can’t hear” When this girl went _hard_ with her music she went hard, intriguing, “Hey I’m not judging, I’ll listen to anything that’s not in the top forties” Was Kira a fan of pop? No. She was subjected to the same 6-10 songs during work hours. If working the juice bar of the rec center wasn’t torture enough…

“Oh” Talkative as ever the dark haired girl pursed her lips, struggling with the thought of whether or not she should interact with a new person...to _try_ and open herself up for just a couple of moments. “You know Revocation?”

“Not personally, no” Kira’s lips tugged into a smile, she couldn’t resist the chance to be a cheeky ass, “Cradle Robber, Deathless, Fracked, Witch Trials” Sporting her yellow and black fingerless gloves she counted each song title off of her hand. “Do I need to go on?”

That seemed to perk up the other girl, as if she passed some sort of test. “I didn’t think anyone around here knew about that” She paused again, realizing this girl in front of her had no idea who she actually was, “I’m Trini”

“I know” She didn’t, this was the first time actually hearing her name, but she didn’t need to know that. “I’ve seen you around, always listening to something” With a smile she offered her hand, as one did when introductions were in order, “I’m Kira”

Trini took the taller girl’s hand, tilting her head questioningly at Kira’s confession, “You noticed me?”

“Uh...the giant headphones trying to ignore the world? Yeah I noticed” Was she trying to be invisible or something? People had ears, the kids around here just would rather overlook the girl with the baggy clothes who listened to deathmetal. Others would probably call her a freak or a reject, nah, that only made Kira want to talk to her more. To figure out who the hell this mystery girl was...okay so it helped that she was cute. Even if she wasn’t great at pretending to be tough, “What’re you doing after this?”

Trini took a long hard look at the girl before her, taking extra notice to her messenger bag and a single button with a rainbow on it. Pride. She swallowed a lump in her throat and shrugged nonchalantly, “I dunno, probably go home” Ooh, home and do homework, that wasn’t even that great of an excuse to try and blow someone off.

Kira wasn’t going to let that shake her, with a tilt of her head and a smug smile she asked, “Wanna go some place cool instead?” She put a hand up realizing how that could come off, “I promise, not as sketchy as it sounds. I just know of an exchange shop that you might like”

The new girl rose a brow at the invitation, definitely sounded sketchy, but hell, for the first time in her short existence at Harwood County, Trini found herself talking to someone she didn’t hate right away. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad… “Exchange shop? Like CDs and shit? I don’t need any fossils” Not when she could just download all of her music to her phone.

“Yeah, like CDs and shit for mega cheap. Don’t knock it till you try it” Kira shrugged, she had no problem with buying old cds, her extensive knowledge of music came from being able to buy albums and soundtracks for three dollars or less, “But hey I won’t keep you if your house is more exciting”

Trini thought on that, going back home, that was just somewhere she didn’t want to be...not right away. Kira turned in her chair as detentions proctor came in, now was the time they were supposed to be quiet. Whatever. The headphones came back on, making it a point to keep the sound on as loud as possible. That brought a grin to Kira’s face….this Trini girl was pretty cool, she just hoped that she didn’t blow her chance to get try and get to know her better. Any doubts Kira had in her mind were silenced when the girl behind her tapped her and handed her a note, on it Trini had written. ‘ _It better be cool’_

Score.

 

*****

Kira took Trini to her favorite music store, this was where she liked to go in her free time. It was fun, she tried to get a bit of flirting in. Trini started to open up a bit more once they were out of detention, if Kira was a gambler she would say that she was _actually_ having fun. She wasn’t as tough as she tried to make herself out to be. Hanging out once after school soon turned into hanging out again, and finding Kira for lunch periods so she wouldn’t have to eat alone. Kira was able to finally get some details out of her...that she had moved around a lot because of her father’s job. It was easier to just stick to herself instead of trying to make a new life everywhere she went. That sounded awful, and absolutely no way to live. From that moment on Kira made it a point to try and melt that icy exterior Trini kept up, even if it was just taking her to the park for a walk outside. She needed to enjoy life, and more importantly being in the moment.

Once Kira stopped over at the Gomez house to help Trini with her English homework, Shakespeare didn’t always come naturally to everyone. Kira could thank Romeo and Juliet for their additional time spent together. Then there was the factor of Mrs. Gomez….Kira could understand not making the _best_ first impression but there was something that rubbed her the wrong way about Trini’s mother. Maybe it was the fake-niceness or the cross on the wall. Kira wasn’t exactly the best type to take home to the parents...even as a friend. She wasn’t popular, she wasn’t the good natured nerd, judging by her looks alone she’s the type of girl who ditches classes to go smoke under the bleachers. So not all of that was true, she did love skipping class. Hence the detention in the first place. Not even an invite for dinner? Kira wasn’t expecting much else. She could see Mrs. Gomez’s eyes trace right to the button on her bag, that she was a threat to her daughter’s sexuality, the worst of influences.

That didn’t stop Kira from inviting Trini to her house, a safe haven away from her own home. If Trini wanted an escape, Kira was more than willing to help. Especially when their Freshman year was officially over and they didn’t have the excuse of school to see each other during the day. Trini sat back on Kira’s bed, in complete awe of the shelves surrounding Kira’s room all of them chock full of CD cases that she had collected over the years. Kira stood in the corner of her room, sifting through records to prove in person that yes vinyl was way better than digital music.

“Are you gay?” Trini asked out of the blue, Kira’s sifting slowed to a halt at her guest’s question. “I uh...I didn’t mean to blurt that out”

Kira could only smile, shaking her head at the question, well that was one way to ask. It wasn’t like it was a secret, “Yeah, I am” She tilted her head to the side, sending her friend a quizzical glance, “Is that a problem?” Was this when Trini would give into her mother’s opinions and cut Kira out of her life?

Just as Kira put a record on, Trini asked the million dollar question, “How did you know?” The young girl looked down to her hands, her voice so small it made Kira’s heartbreak. “...That you liked girls…?”

Oh boy, okay. Kira slowly moved to sit on the end of her bed, across from Trini, “You ever see the movie Sound of Music?” Trini nodded slowly, her attention hanging on every word coming out of her friend’s mouth, so Kira continued, “When you kiss a girl and you feel like Julie Andrews at the beginning of the movie. Just running around with her arms out spinning like she was free of all of her problems. Kissing a girl is like…” She made an explosion with her hand, her grin wild, “The hills are alive”

Trini did not find that response very helpful, she reached forward and shoved Kira’s shoulder, the taller girl laughing. “Fuck you! That’s not funny!” She pouted, she was really struggling with this and all Kira could do was make it light of her questioning.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry” She wasn’t _totally_ lying about the Sound of Music thing, instead she put a hand on her chest and with the most serious expression she explained, “I took a “How gay are you?” quiz on Facebook and got 100%. That’s how I found out that I like chicks over dicks” The pillow smacking side of her face was absolutely deserved and effectively cut her off from laughing further.

“Can you be serious for two seconds?” Trini frowned, normally she didn’t mind this sarcastic sense of humor...she could dish it out just as well. Their banter was one of Kira’s favorite parts about hanging out with Trini Gomez. “How did you know?” She asked, repeating her original question.

Kira shrugged, moving up on her bed so she could lay down, her hands behind her neck. She wasn’t the best with this kind of thing, the serious conversations, but Trini was becoming a close friend so she had to try. “It’s a feeling” Trini frowned skeptically, “I’m not bullshitting this time. It’s not like I haven’t tried being with guys before…….something just was off about it. I wasn’t into it. It didn’t _feel_ like me. You just know what’s right and for me...its girls, exclusively” Kira could feel Trini’s gaze upon her as she spoke, taking in her features; the curvature of her chest, the way her lips moved when she spoke. “Why do you ask?”

“Uh” Trini’s mouth suddenly went dry at the tables flipping on her. She should have expected the question to come back at her. “...For long time I haven’t felt _normal_ ...my mom keeps pushing me and _pushing_ me to try and be this person I’m not. To try dress differently, act differently, get a boyfriend...I don’t want a boyfriend. I don’t want _any_ of that” She closed her eyes, afraid what would happen when the truth finally came out, “...I think I like girls…” By the way the bed squeaked, and how the weight suddenly changed, she knew that Kira moved in her spot. “...I think I like you…”

Kira sat up so she could sit in front of Trini once more. She rested a soft hand on Trini’s cheek, using her thumb to stroke smooth skin. Kira was ready to wipe away any tears coming her way, “Trini it’s okay, there’s nothing _wrong_ with you for how you feel” Kira wanted to punch Mrs. Gomez in the tit for making her daughter feel so closed off, to make her possibly _hate_ herself for following her heart. “You’re perfect the way you are, you hear me?”

Trini’s eyes finally opened, wet with tears threatening to fall, only to be met with the kindness and compassion of Kira sitting before her. This girl who played an acoustic guitar and dreamed of getting a drum kit, maybe even joining a band. She never apologized for how she felt and maybe she was right about the stupid vinyl thing. As if knowing what Trini was about to do, Kira slowly nodded her head in permission to go forward. Trini wanted to know what it was like...to kiss a girl...to kiss a girl she had been developing feelings for.

She leaned forward to tentatively press her lips against her only friend’s in Harwood County. Kira understood what this kiss was, exploration, to see if her gut was right. The music enthusiast returned her kiss, her hand still caressing her shorter friends cheek as their lips found a steady rhythm. Feeling more confident, Trini ran her fingers through Kira’s messy dirty blonde curls, relishing in how soft the other girls hair felt. She had to pull away, she was enjoying this too much.

Trini rested her forehead against Kira’s, taking in a deep breath as she realized oh shit...kissing girls was actually pretty awesome. Kira pecked Trini’s lip, a grin forming on her face, “Were the hills alive?”

The shorter girl’s laugh got caught in her throat, “Fuck you, Kira”

“Mmm” Kira ran a hand up and down Trini’s arm to soothe her, she knew how scary it was to realize the truth. That whatever Trini decided to do that her whole life was going to change. “You at least have to buy me dinner first”

 

*****

Trini had a lot to reflect on, how she felt about her only friend in town, how her mother was going to react, if pursuing Kira would really all be worth it. She considered, maybe, just maybe pretending to date a boy would get her mom off her back but she wasn’t going to lie and pretend she was something she wasn’t. Dating no one and being nothing was much easier than lying about who she was. Trini couldn’t string a guy a long like that.

Kira and Trini decided that they would date, or at least be girlfriends on the downlow so Trini could figure out what the hell she was going to do. They agreed that they’d be exclusive to one another. Kira didn’t mind, she totally understood as Mrs. Gomez still was a bit icy toward her...icy being an understatement. Mrs. Gomez was a total bitch. They spent a lot of time at Kira’s house laying on her bed, talking and listening to music. For the pair of young girls music was their greatest escape from the outside world, outside of Trini’s family.

When they weren’t cooped up in Kira’s house, they would go to the old exchange shop or the park. Being without a car they didn’t have many options that were cheap so they had to make their own fun. If they were to spend money it would be to see live performances. That summer Kira would take Trini to all types of shows. Nothing felt more freeing than jumping up and down in a mosh pit, as long as she stayed close to her girlfriend Trini didn’t have a worry in the world.

At one local concert, the two were wrapped up in a moment and shared a kiss. One that Kira used her phone to take a picture of. Trini noticed right away that she was posting it out to the public on her Instagram account. Kira _loved_ the aesthetic of Instagram and capturing a moment, she would post a couple of times a day and this was no different.

“What’re you doing?” Trini made a grab for the phone, Kira’s longer arms made it easier for her to pull it out of her girlfriend’s reach. “My mom could _see_ that!”

“Do you really think your mom knows how to use Instagram? Her generation sticks with Twitter and Facebook, and they don’t even do that well” Trini herself barely used the social app, claiming that it was just dumb and too many people posted pictures of food. “It’ll be fine...relax” She was confident that Mrs. Gomez wouldn’t _ever_ see it, so what was the worst that could happen?

It was Kira’s most liked photo of all time.

 

*****

With the school year quickly approaching, the two wanted to spend as much time together as they could. Mrs. Gomez was going to be out all day doing errands so Trini invited Kira to her place for a change. She had the house all to herself. If only the pair knew this would be one of the worst days of their lives.

Kira never spent any time in Trini’s bedroom, whenever she was a guest in the house they would have to be in general areas...places where Mrs. Gomez could watch them from a distance. Outside of trying to convert her poor baby into a den of gay-sin...Mrs. Gomez convinced herself that Kira was the type to get Trini into drugs. The feeling was mutual, Kira wasn’t a fan of the controlling woman who grilled her daughter all the time with rapid fire rounds of twenty questions.

Trini sat on her bed, watching as Kira took stock of her room. A person’s bedroom was a window into their lives-a lot could be said about someone based on their walls their decoration, how neatly the room was kept. Ha. Well the last one was a bit of a stretch. Mrs. Gomez probably ran the house like a drill sergeant. Hell, Kira was surprised that Trini was even allowed to put up posters of her favorite metal bands.

What caught Kira’s eye was Trini’s desk, the one place that didn’t seem to fit in with the rest. There rested a pink elastic bracelet...it was worn so much that whatever ink was left onto it was a drawing of a lightning bolt. Wasn’t any sort of band Kira knew, and she knew _a lot_ of bands. There was an old baseball in a display case with signatures on it. Kira took it upon herself to pick it up and get a better look at it….these definitely weren’t the signatures of famous MLB players. “What’s this?” The handwriting was mostly horrible, except for the girl who dotted the i in her name with a heart. Kimberly Ann Hart.

Trini shot off of her bed so quickly, pulling the ball away from Kira and shoving it into a drawer for safe keeping. “It’s nothing, it’s dumb” She was _far_ too defensive over a stupid baseball for it to be just nothing. “Will you stop touching stuff?”

“Whoa whoa, no need to get defensive” Kira simply put her hands up, trying to get her girlfriend to back off. “I wasn’t going to hurt it” She could see that Trini was still extremely on edge, whatever, not worth it, “Okay, backing off” She took her hat off, Kira wasn’t going to be the type to let men ruin fedoras, she looked too good in them; and set it down on Trini’s end table. They had an empty house on their hands one free of parents and little brothers go and that couldn’t go to waste. “I think there’s something we’d _both_ rather be doing”

“You’re right” Trini sat down on her bed, smugly smirking in her girlfriend’s direction, “We should really get started on our summer reading if we want to be ready for the school year” Kira _was_ a bad influence, mostly to Trini’s sense of humor. What an ass.

“...You’re shitting me, right?” Kira blinked, checking around for Trini’s copy of their lame summer reading book _Of Mice and Men,_ a classic apparently.

All of Kira’s doubts were quelled when Trini sat up to pull her down by her vest, capturing her lips in the process. That was more like it. Getting into a more comfortable position, Trini laid back on her bed so Kira could get on top of her. This was dangerous to do this in the Gomez house, worry and doubt was pushed to the back of their minds and replaced with one another. Their kiss deepened as Trini’s fingers laced under Kira’s vest to take off the additional layer. It wasn’t a move she had made before, Trini was finally getting more comfortable in her skin.

Trini had to pull away from the kiss, making a not-so-romantic move to her phone. Whenever the two locked lips in Kira’s room, there was always music in the background-here it was unbearably quiet. Kira latched her lips onto Trini’s neck, kissing her pulsepoint to try and distract her from picking something on the screamo side...she liked Trini a lot but something about angry dudes yelling in her ear wasn’t the best tone to set the mood. So she may not have trusted her girlfriend’s taste so while she continued to pepper kisses along her neck she made a grab at her phone. “Mmm c’mon...my house my music” Trini kept her convictions strong and settled for some classic 80’s rock...it beat screamo and Kira could live with that.

As their make out session continued, Kira felt Trini’s knee rise up between her legs, so she returned her attention back to Trini’s lips. With the music from the phone blaring, it was easy to get lost in the moment. Needing to take it further, to feel more skin, Kira started to move her hand under Trini’s shirt..slowly just barely being able to cup Trini’s breast in her hand when it all went south. The sensation of taking their relationship a step further, was quickly replaced with pain, a harsh pain. Kira was tugged roughly from the bed by her hair, effectively ripping her from her girlfriend having to stumble to get to her feet.

“Get off!” Mrs. Gomez in a fury kept a firm grip onto Kira’s hair, the teenager was absolutely in a daze from the sudden whiplash. “Don’t you _dare_ touch her!”

“Ah what the hell!?” Kira bit back out of pure reflex, instantly regretting those words as Mrs. Gomez literally had her by the head. This right here was June Gomez’s worst nightmare, she knew, just knew that the girl Trini had been hanging out with over the past couple of weeks was nothing but trouble. That Kira was the reason her daughter would be behaving this way...she was a bad seed that needed to be removed for the safety of preserving her family. Trini would thank her later for this.

Trini sat up in her bed watching in horror, despite Kira trying to shove off of her mother, June Gomez was absolutely relentless in dragging her out of Trini’s room toward the steps. “Mom! Stop!” She snapped back into attention, jumping off of her bed to rush to try and reach out for Kira to get her mother to just _stop_ this insanity. “You’re hurting her!”

“Not now Trini” Her mother spat, “Go back to your room!” Down the stairs she and Kira went, the pain in the young musician’s head was pounding now. Gripping onto the railing didn’t do her any good, she could barely keep up with Mrs. Gomez’s steps. This was utterly humiliating, she could walk out on her own as she was clearly unwelcome but hell hath no fury like a pissed off mother trying to defend her child from being who she was...for _liking_ another girl.

On their way down the down the steps, Mrs. Gomez harshly tugged onto Kira’s hair, the girl stumbling forward and banging her knee against the wood of the step. Oh that was going to bruise. Kira could barely hear Trini pleading with her mom to stop from the top of the stairs, they passed two gawking young boys who’s playtime was interrupted by the whole scene playing out in front of them. Mama had to take out the trash and that was exactly what Kira felt when the front door opened. Relief finally washed over Kira as the hand that held her hair so tightly finally relented and let go. “I don’t want to see you ever again, you stay away from this _house_ and you stay away from my _daughter_ ” She gave Kira enough space before slamming the door in front of her face.

The shock of it all still settled in Kira’s core as she stared at the white wooden door before her. That just happened...she could hear the screaming through the wood...she couldn’t make out any of the words. Mother and daughter were now going at it and all Kira could do was blink. The pain in her knee was finally catching up to her, her lip quivered as she tried to remember how to breathe again. She knew Trini’s mom was completely homophobic but she never expected her to be the type to go postal that wasn’t how polite women handle their problems. They should have been more careful, they shouldn’t have turned music on, Kira’s shoulders were shaking her entire world was flipping upside down and she wasn’t prepared for gravity to bring her back down to Earth with a bang. Kira had force herself to turn away, to start walking home, one step and the pain in her knee shot through her. A reminder to how much people like Mrs. Gomez hated her for not being afraid...Kira was tough, and like any tough girl she’d wait until she was in the safety of a hot shower to break down and cry.

 

*****

 

The week following, Kira was completely going nuts in the dark. She hadn’t heard a word from Trini since the fateful blowup at the Gomez house. With a controlling mother like June, Kira could imagine that all forms of communication was cut off. No cellphone, no computer. Trini would have to resort to sending her a message via the postal service, smoke signal or carrier pigeon. Nothing. No word. All Kira wanted to know was if she was okay. Her mind traveled to the worst possible place as she clutched onto a spare pillow to try and comfort herself to sleep….military school, bible camp, fuck who knew what that woman was capable of. Kira wouldn’t put shock therapy past her. Mrs. Gomez wanted Trini to be straight she _needed_ to have the ideal daughter and she didn’t care who she had to tear apart to protect that image….they were only kids.

 _Kira Ford 1:30  
_ _Are you okay?_

It was a long shot, sending a message to Trini’s cellphone but she had to try, even if it was so early in the morning….the response she received broke her heart to read.

 _Trini Gomez: 1:35  
_ _Trini isn’t allowed to have her phone. Do not contact this number._

Great. Just as she suspected, Mrs. Gomez had her phone. Well that option was out. It was too dangerous to try and show up at the Gomez house unannounced, Kira didn’t doubt that Trini would be locked up in her room or with her mother at all times. Mrs. Gomez couldn’t risk Trini getting out of her sight.

A couple of days before school started for their sophomore year, Kira was unexpectedly surprised by Trini at her doorstep with her vest and her fedora hat...Kira never had a chance to pick them up from the Gomez house after that night and with Trini on June lockdown she never could return them….so why now? The solemn look on Trini’s face said that this was the end...that this was going to be the end she wasn’t expecting the next words out of her soon to be ex-girlfriend’s mouth, “We’re moving to Angel Grove”

Kira took her clothes delicately from Trini, trying to process what she was _saying_ , “I’m sorry... _what_?” No way, she knew Trini hadn’t lived in Harwood County for very long...less than a year, “You’ve gotta be kidding me” Kira could connect the dots pretty quickly, the only thing she was aware that changed in the Gomez family was Trini getting handsy with another girl right under their roof. “They’re moving because you’re gay? That’s bullshit”

“Don’t make this harder than it is” Trini was visibly upset, she didn’t want to be here, to have to break the news like this. Kira attempted to reach out for her but she was shrugged off, Trini’s walls were quick to build up once more. The shorter girl was blaming herself for letting someone in, she broke her _one_ rule for Kira and it blew up in her face, “My dad got an opportunity in Angel Grove...a chance for our family to stop moving all the time...so he took it” Trini folded her arms across her chest, hugging herself tightly as the next words were going to hurt her the most, “This means we have to say goodbye”

“God...Trini...” In that moment Kira didn’t give a damn, she wrapped her arms tightly around the broken girl in front of her. Mrs. Gomez had been sitting in her parked car at the side of the road, she of course was watching this exchange like a hawk at the sight of Kira embracing her daughter she laid down on her horn. No. Fuck her right now. “You know I’m always a message away”

The smaller girl nodded against her, taking in a deep breath a shaky breath, she had to go back into that car...pack up and start a new life...this wasn’t fair. None of this was fair. It was fucking crap that Trini had to feel this low about herself, that she had to live in a house full of negativity. There wasn’t a goddamn thing Kira could do about it but watch it happen in front of her. Trini had to pull away from the embrace, if anything to get her mother to stop drawing attention to them. They were still outside after all. “I have to go now”

“...I know…” Kira took a step back, she didn’t want Mrs. Gomez to have a cow in the front seat of her car. “...Goodbye Trini” With Trini mutely nodding, having to turn around. Kira could shoot a glare in Mrs. Gomez’s direction. She balled her fists tightly at her side, wishing she could do something more for Trini as she made a return trip to that car. That so quickly this girl that she was starting to fall for was suddenly yanked from her life as quickly as that. Kira only prayed that Trini was telling the truth, that they were moving because of a job opportunity...and that they wouldn’t uproot their entire life to move to an entirely different city just because Trini liked kissing girls.

 

*****

Sophomore year started a couple of weeks later, and was well underway. Kira was haunted by the memories of being thrown out of the Gomez home. It jaded her, when people looked at her the wrong way the thought quickly jumped to...were they judging her because of her sexuality? Could they possibly hate her as much as that bitch of a woman? She couldn’t help but replay that moment in her head time after time, she didn’t do enough to stand up for herself, to stand up for her girlfriend. There was no word from Trini, she didn’t reach out to her, Kira had no idea what her ex was up to...if she was okay...or if they really sent her away. All it did was make Kira mad, bitter that a mother could do that to her own child...that her _natural_ reaction was to go so heavily on the offensive.

Kira tried to reach out to Trini by text, by Facebook messenger, hell she even tried emailing the girl...without an actual home address it was all she could do. Nothing. No response. Did Mrs. Gomez block her cell number? Her email? There was no way she’d know how to get into her daughter’s Facebook account to block Kira on that...Trini flat out wasn’t responding. Worse, she wasn’t even reaching out to see if Kira was recovering from the whole ordeal. If she didn’t feel like garbage before, she certainly did now. Mrs. Gomez dragged her out of her daughter’s bedroom by her _hair_ there was no getting over that quickly…Homecoming had already shot by in the blink of an eye, and still no word from Trini. Did their time together mean nothing to her? With Trini making posts on Facebook far and few between it only confirmed that she was flat out avoiding and ignoring Kira’s messages. Kira’s ex-girlfriend was ghosting her out. What the fuck?

“We have a new student today” Weird, kids didn’t transfer in this late in quarter. Kira brought her undivided attention to the front of the room where her favorite teacher stood next to a pretty new red-headed girl. Great. She’s hot. Kira was screwed over by the _last_ new girl that came to Harwood County, she wanted absolutely nothing to do with this new chick. Ms. Divatox read from a piece of paper in her hand, “Megan Faherty” Despite being a teacher, she seemed absolutely disinterested in the new girl and her story. “Do you have anything you want to say to the class?”

The red headed girl smiled, Kira could take a wild guess by her attire that she was pretty well off, judging by the amount of makeup she was wearing...appearance meant a lot to her. Probably nervous about a first day in a new jungle. “Hi, I’m Megan” Yeah, they all knew that. “I just moved here from a small town called Angel Grove” …..Angel Grove…seriously? Kira held back a deep sigh, what were the fucking chances of the new kid being from the same town Trini had moved to? What a cosmic joke. She didn’t even _hear_ the rest of whatever the new girl had to say...all she could think about was Trini and her _bitch_ of of a mother.

Ms. Divatox motioned to the back of the room where Kira sat, “You can sit by Ms. Ford” Oh no, there was an empty chair next to her. Faherty. Ford. Fuck the alphabet.

The red headed girl made her way to the back of the classroom, fake smiling to all of her peers before actually sitting down. Kira wasn’t blind she took the opportunity to subtly check her out, Megan wore a skirt just long enough to make dress code and a cutesy top. Definitely a prep in a former life. The closer the new kid got, the more disinterested Kira needed to appear. She was _not_ here to play nice to the new girl.

Megan set her designer purse down by her feet and took a seat next to Kira as instructed. She needed to take a moment to breathe, sending a meek smile Kira’s way...okay so Kira _could_ have been nicer and a little less off putting. “What?” Her eyebrows raised, she didn’t want the new girl _looking_ at her.

“Sorry” She averted her attention back down to her notes. Kira sighed, annoyed at her situation, now she was being a bitch to complete strangers.

“Poetry” Ms. Divatox commanded the attention of the room with a firm voice. Kira absolutely loved taking English with someone...well, eccentric would be putting it nicely. The slender woman didn’t take any bullshit from these high schoolers and carried a passion for the language arts. “What can you tell me about poetry?”

“That it sucks” A jock, big surprise there, piped up from his place against the wall. Wearing a purple and white letterman jacket he felt like he was on top of the world to say what he wanted, or do whatever he wanted to in class. He didn’t even take out a notebook to _try_. Just disrupted the class when he could with his little comments. This one earning a chuckle from the other animals in the herd.

Ms. Divatox had absolutely no patience for him, or anyone who made a mockery in her classroom. The raven haired woman narrowed her eyes at him, scaring the hell out of the pack of jocks...it was best not to test the waters in Dimitria Divatox’s classroom. “As I was _saying_ . Poetry in essence is all about emotion. Expressing a _feeling_ in ways prose cannot. Oh I know, you teenagers are constipated when it comes to expressing yourselves so I’ll make this easier on you. For this weeks assignment I want you all to _partner up_ and come up with a poem elicits a spark of _feeling_.” Ugh. Kira could feel Megan’s eyes on her at the mention of partnering up. Here’s a feeling; dread.

“I don’t mean “I went to the beach and felt _happy_ looking at sand” that’s generic. Happy, sad, mad. No” The tall teacher clucked her tongue, shaking her head at the mundane, “You have to dig deeper. Ecstatic, devastation, _seething_ with anger. You’ve lived long enough for there to be _something_ to happen in your lives” She started to walk up and down the aisles of the classroom, make sure everyone was awake for this. “Think about a person who may have affected you in one way or another. How your little boyfriend or girlfriend could make feel like you’re in orbit at a kiss.”

Her eyes narrowed, once she got to the front of the classroom she swiftly turned around to address her class. “Better yet, think of someone who’s done you wrong.” Ms. Divatox’s lips upturned into a twisted smile, “A rival, an ex-friend, an ex-whatever you’ve run into. That one person that makes your blood boil just _looking_ at them. Tension a whole room can feel when you simply lock eyes.”

Megan looked over to Kira, keeping her voice low so she wouldn’t be heard by the rough and tough English teacher, “I think the word she’s looking for is _hatefuck_ but she can’t say it around high schoolers”

Okay, _that_ mustered up a smile from Kira, she wasn’t expecting that kind of language to escape the pretty girls lips...alright...maybe they _could_ be partners after all. Not like Kira needed the additional help to elicit emotions, she could thank the Gomez’s for that.

 

*****

In order to try and get some work done, Kira and Megan decided to meet up in the library to get this out of the way. The school library served as a neutral place, no need for the drama of possibly meeting parents. Writing about intense feelings with a complete stranger, how fun. Everyone else seemed to have a buddy in the class. Kira was sure the jocks would blow off the assignment or somehow make it a joke by choosing ‘horny’ as their emotion. Ha, if she didn't regard Ms. Divatox so highly she may’ve considered a similar piece but Kira actually _enjoyed_ writing.

“I hate poetry” Megan stared at a blank piece of paper, “Writing so isn’t my strong suit” Kira raised a questioning brow at the brightly colored gel pen she decided on using, what was she still in middle school?

“Ah it’s not so bad” Kira put her feet up onto the table and leaned back in her chair, she made herself comfortable with a notebook in her lap. “It’s an easy prompt” Kira had _loads_ of material to use for a poem about deep rooted feelings. “You listen to music?” She shook her head _of course_ this girl did, “Poetry is just like song lyrics”

“I don’t know if that makes it any easier” Megan ran fingers through long ginger locks, “But I guess that makes sense” Especially with this assignment, where it as all about self expression. Her brows furrowed, she was still a bit lost.

“What kind of music do you listen to?” Kira was going to regret asking that, but if they were going to put something good down...they needed to get to know one another better.

“Mmm I used to be a big Taylor Swift fan” _Shocking!_ “Back when she was more country and not poppy” Megan narrowed her eyes as Kira looked like she was trying to hold back a laugh, her hand over her mouth as if pretending to think, “Oh whatever, country isn’t _that_ bad.”

“Yeah, it’s kinda awful” It was one of the genres Kira couldn’t click with so easily, “I will give you that one song, where Carrie Underwood destroys that car”

“Of course you’d like that one, Hot Topic” Megan did a once over of Kira’s outfit, torn jeans, a layer of a fishnet mesh over a long sleeved bright yellow shirt, it wasn’t hard to pinpoint what she liked. Kira could only laugh at _that_ fun nickname. “Country is way deeper than hicks getting drunk and loving their pickup trucks. Cheating, domestic violence... _Love._ You feel something when you listen to country...it’s comforted me though some stuff…” Megan shifted uncomfortably in her chair, shaking her head, suddenly reminded of something she’d rather not think about.

Okay, so Kira was kind of being a dick, they were _supposed_ to be partners and working together will all of this. “There you go, think about that” She sat up and moved her feet off the table so she could tap Megan’s notebook, “Write about love and all that jazz” The redheaded girl didn’t seem so thrilled about the idea, “Bad break up?”

“Something like that” She smiled, albeit sadly, “A friend of mine kind of stabbed me in the back. It was bad” Megan sighed, they barely breached the topic and she was exhausted, defeated. “It’s a long story”

“You don’t have to go into it if you don’t want to” Kira put a hand up, she had her own baggage that she’d rather not get into. “But I think that’s where you wanna dig from for this assignment. Don’t focus on the what happened...just focus on the feelings” She got to her feet, reaching over to gently squeeze this girl’s shoulder. Kira could be a bit standoffish but this was literally this girl’s first freaking day. “Okay? I’m going to get us something from the vending machine”

Kira left Megan with her thoughts, if she was going to reflect on some intense feelings it was best to do it alone. Friends stabbing friends in the back? Yeah, that was a tall order. Maybe Kira was too quick to judge the new girl, even the popular type had their problems to deal with. Kira spent enough time in detention to know how to finagle the vending machine to get something out of it without actually paying for it. A couple of bags of chips and a snickers bar, not a bad haul.

Megan’s back was facing the door so she didn’t see Kira returning, instead of trying to do her assignment she was too busy on the phone...talking to someone from back home. “How’s Amanda? Oh stop. She’s not a _sheep_ ...oh. _Oh_ and Kim?” Megan shook her head, disgusted at the name, “It's been fine” She reached over to Kira’s messenger bag, examining the rainbow pin, “Yeah, I’m working on some English project with this dykeadelic girl. You’ll get a kick out of her, I’ll send you the link to her Instagram” So much for giving the new girl the benefit of the doubt. First there was Mrs. Gomez and now Megan out to judge her, fuck this. She was even going to give Megan the damn chocolate bar but not anymore.

Kira made her presence known by slamming her hand down on the table, startling the redheaded girl badly. Megan stared at Kira with wide eyes, oh there wasn’t a doubt in her mind that her english partner heard what she had just said. “I’ll call you later Bex” She placed her cellphone on the table, biting her lip, she knew this did _not_ come off in the slightest, “......hey”

“You know what, forget it.” Kira shook her head, she was actually starting to _like_ this girl, but it was best to cut her off and shut whatever their little partnership was down. Being gay was clearly a joke to Megan here, something fun to call her buddies back in small town Angel Grove. “I’ll just do the assignment for both of us” She started to shove her notebooks and pens back into her bag in a hustle. This was what she got for _trying_ to be nice. “You can fuck off.”

“Kira wait! I’m sorry! I didn’t mean anything by it…” It was no use, nothing Megan could say at this point would be able to take what she said back...to get Kira to stop from exiting the library that day. “Great”

Kira left Harwood County High in a huff. Ms. Divatox wanted some emotion? Oh she could bring on the fire that had been burning inside of her ever since the day June Gomez threw her out of her home. Kira _never_ apologized for how she felt about girls, she was comfortable in her own skin but it seemed like everywhere she turned there was someone trying to bring her down for it. She spent all night coming up with a poem….setting it to the tune of her acoustic guitar. The looks she would get in the halls, a stranger commenting behind her back, her girlfriend never messaging her back...how it felt to be dragged down the stairs. She carried so much anger inside of her that words could easily spill onto a page. Now it was about protecting herself.

The next day, Kira was the first one to turn in her final draft her poem...Megan’s name on the top as if the two worked on it together. “Don’t talk to me.” She snapped at the redhead as she sat down at her desk, pulling out a notebook. If she could write one song, she could use this swirling mess of feelings building inside to write another one. The new girl would just have to fend for herself.

 

*****

Megan approached Kira while the musician sat on a bench and ate her lunch, she looked apprehensive for even _trying_ to start a conversation with her but she needed to get something off her chest. “I’m sorry for what happened to your friend” Kira went from glaring daggers at the redhead to frowning in confusion, what the fuck was she talking about? “I didn’t know that would happen”

“What did I say about not talking to me?” Megan flinched and stepped back at the sight of Kira clenching her fist, no, she wasn’t going to be that person...the one who takes out her anger with a threat of violence. “Don’t you have a cheer try out to get to?”

“...Yeah but…” There was something Kira wasn’t getting, but she was too aggravated by the sight of the preppy girl in front of her to even attempt to connect the dots. “I just, I feel like this was my fault and I needed to apologize to you. It wasn’t right”

Kira rested her head against the brick wall behind her, all she wanted was to eat in peace and for this chick to leave her the hell alone. “Super! Oh wow! Like totally you suck, I mean right on” Kira clapped her hands together, mocking the girl through a fake cheer. Cheerleaders were _all_ the same. “Fuck off”

“Fine, forget it” Megan sighed, defeated, if Kira wasn’t going to accept her apology for what had happened she wasn’t going to keep trying. She messed up, she knew that, but Kira was so damn stubborn it was like apologizing to a brick wall.

Once the other girl was finally out of sight, Kira could finally relax and check her phone...not expecting to see an instagram notification on her screen. **_Trini Gomez liked your photo_ ** . She tilted her head, oh this was rich. So Trini wouldn’t talk to her, but she sure as hell could look up old photos? Her ex-girlfriend was definitely creeping on her page, most likely to see what she was up to. Well. Two could play that game. Kira knew that Trini wasn’t a big social media user, she would post things now and again but mostly tried to keep a low profile. She didn’t like drawing attention to herself...instagram was out, Trini _never_ posted on that so the only reason she went onto the app was to look at Kira’s profile. Facebook it was.

 **Trini Gomez is now friends with Zack Taylor and 4 others.  
**   
Kira searched through Zack’s page first, a lot of videos of himself doing stunts and sharing memes about living life hard while a person’s young. He seemed to check out just fine, maybe a bit loud and annoying for someone like Trini but nothing too out of the ordinary. Tommy Oliver. A pretty boy who needed a goddamn haircut. A guy who seemed way into baseball and sharing his opinions...every time this guy made a post he would receive at least fifty likes on it. From where Kira stood he looked like a total and complete tool.  

She checked out the next page, Billy Cranston, a sweet lovable nerd who posted wholesome jokes about math and shared youtube videos of _old_ country songs he had been listening to any given day. Most of his photos were tagged with his best friend Jason Scott...which brings up another interesting person Trini had just friended. Jason Scott. The Angel Grove quarterback. The _only_ reason Kira could conceive that she would associate herself with a _jock_ like him was that they were forced to be partners in a class project. Back when Trini was at Harwood County the pair shared their disdain for the athletic types _especially_ the ones on the football team who paraded around the school like they were the hottest shit. Befriending Jason Scott had to be a god damn fluke.

Then there was Kimberly Hart….pretty...with the long hair and the killer cheerleader body. Cheerleader. What the hell was the world coming to? Trini _hated_ cheerleaders, the lot of them. Vapid, narcissistic, airheads who clung on to their boyfriends and brought people like them down. Now Trini was befriending quarterbacks and head cheerleaders? Who was she becoming? These were the types of people Kira and Trini would make fun of, especially when the ridiculous idea of pep rallies existed. What did her monster of a mom try to twist her into? Was she doing this to survive? No, Kira recognized these names. All 5 of them...Kimberly Ann Hart, the girl who dotted her i’s with a heart.

Well, that was it...Trini Gomez was moving on and getting a new life with shiny new friends...leaving Kira in the dust of old memories.  

 

*****

If Trini could move on with her life, Kira could move on with hers. There had to be more to life than school, and working at the juice bar. She had found a flyer at work...that a local band was looking for a replacement member. A singer. Ah she’d rather play an instrument but, being in a band had always been one of her dreams. Maybe this would be her shot at something better. Auditions were being held in the bassist, Conner McKnight’s garage. Kira knew the underground scene pretty well when it came to the local bands. Harwood County was chock full of’em but none quite had a name like _Dino Thunder_ they used to have a singer but she had graduated or...there was some sort of drama, something, either way the three boys were looking for someone new to fill her spot.

Kira had the look down pat, that wasn’t ever in question. She could play the acoustic guitar damn well but that didn’t exactly scream the rock n’roll type. Still she wasn’t going to let three boys intimidate her. Conner McKnight and Ethan James were both juniors at Harwood County while Trent Mercer was the hardcore sophomore with a reputation that proceded him. Conner was one who thrived in the sport of soccer when an ACL injury to his knee totally screwed him out of playing...he instead was quick to pick up the bass guitar and never looked back. Ethan James a total whiz kid and 100% behind the bands name to be so _dinosaur_ focused he was a rock star on the drums and held the highest score on Pac-Man at the arcade in the bowling alley. Which left Trent Mercer, the troubled kid that found passion in playing an electric guitar, something his father definitely didn’t approve of. Instead of singing them a cover for her audition she decided to sing one of the songs she had written, specifically the one about Mrs. Gomez...the day of reckoning. The best way she could process the frustration, the anger she was feeling was through her music. She didn’t think her voice was that great, who liked their own voice? The boys seemed to be into it...they were _feeling_ what she was feeling the frustration through each strum.

Trent pulled Conner by his sleeve to try and get his attention, he was the one who advocated for Kira to join the band the most. Albit for selfish reasons, she had the vocals for sure but...damn, if he wanted a shot at dating the girl, asking her to join the band was going to be his best opportunity. The former soccer star shook his head, trying not to laugh at Trent’s desperation, “That song….did you write it?”

“I have some others” She had a lot of feelings to process, “Is that...I can do covers too that’s _not_ a problem” Kira took a huge risk doing something original something so...harsh to say the least, but she wanted to stand out, to make a great impression.

“No, no! That was amazing!” The drummer was quick to get to his feet first, “You can bring the _thunder_ girl” That was what they needed, a lead singer who could carry a stage presence. Kira could bring that in spades, “You’re in, you’re _so_ in” He looked back to the other two boys still sitting on the couch, “She’s in right?”

“Definitely” Conner was grinning, already typing out a message on their social media pages that they had found someone new and that auditions were officially over. “Welcome to the group”

Kira noticed the way Trent was looking at her, he had been checking her out during her entire performance so before she got into bed with this new band she needed to set some things straight, “...Before we get too into this...I just have to come out with something” She looked to Trent, the one that was pulling for her to _begin_ with, “I’m into girls”

A flash of disappointment flashed across the shortest boys face, “Oh” He folded his arms, so much for _that_. “...Okay…aha well, alright, then” At least he didn’t try asking her out, that would’ve been awkward.

Ethan shrugged, he didn’t seem phased by it at all...if anything he was relieved. Three boys, one girl, in a band they would have to spend a _lot_ of time together, practices, gigs, being on the road. If there wasn’t a chance that she’d be attracted to any of them and start up relationship drama that was just an added bonus.

“Cool” Conner sent out the message and then leaned back on the couch, resting his hands behind his neck. Well, that was probably the most drama free coming out Kira had ever experienced, “....So that song you sing have a name?”

Kira shook her head no, honestly she was just happy that this...that _something_ was starting to go well for her, “No….it’s just about my ex’s _bitch_ of a mother”

Ethan snapped his fingers, if she brought the thunder he’d bring the dino. “Oh. Ho. _Bitch-A-Saurus Rex_ ”

 

*****

 

Weeks had gone by, it was easier to stop thinking about her past when she had a future to look up to. Kira’s life was constant band practice, and working at the rec center to get some extra cash. With something to focus on it was becoming easier to let go of the anger she had been holding onto...she had found her people in Conner, Trent, and Ethan...three boys who needed a girl to keep their shit together. She and Ethan were the ones who would put Kira’s lyrics to music to give it more a rock and roll vibe. Trent was able to score them some recording time, if they wanted to get back into Harwood County’s music scene they’d have to come back _big_.

On this particular day, Megan Faherty caught Kira after English class, she was smart not to dare try and talk to her during one of Ms. Divatox’s lectures. “I hear you’re in a band now” Kira rolled her eyes, what the hell was she attempting here? “Are you going to be a bitch to me all year? I said I was sorry _multiple_ times”

“Why are you even _talking_ to me?” Kira needed to get to her next class, she didn’t have time to deal with a cheer...wait...The musician tilted her head, she hadn’t _once_ seen Megan in a cheer uniform and basketball season was well underway. Moving into a new high school _this_ big and it was easy to get lost in the shuffle. Megan had _no_ friends here. What made Kira the one she continually tried to latch onto?

“What I said was mean, I _know_ I feel terrible for saying it” For a lot of things that Kira didn’t even know about. “Going through something _shitty_ isn’t a good excuse. I just…” She reached into her purse to pull out a beautifully folded square piece of paper, “I did the assignment.”

“The one _I_ did for us?” Why? Kira appeased the redheaded girl by taking the piece of paper. “I see you didn’t make the cheer squad...if you did, would you even be talking to me? Or am I just someone you’d laugh about behind my back?”

Megan didn’t have a good answer for that, she glanced down, popularity makes people do some pretty damn shitty things. Yeah, that’s what Kira thought. “Will you just read it?” She made sure Kira didn’t throw the poem away before making her turn to leave. The ex-cheerleader didn’t need to watch the other girl read something so personal.

Kira had been a speedy reader, the assignment was to write about an intense emotion...if Kira thought _she_ had problems it was nothing compared to Megan’s. Her friend back in Angel Grove stabbed her in the back in an inconceivable way. Holy shit. Talk about _petty_ . This so called friend sent a nude photo of the redhead that blew up and went viral. In a small town that was considered a death sentence. Hurt, violation, betrayal, resent...fuck. _Fuck._ Kira quickly caught up with the redhead and grabbed her arm, this wasn’t something she could just sit on. “We’re skipping next period”

Megan wasn’t going to argue that. Kira brought her to a safe place, no one would be looking for kids under the bleachers of the football stadium. They’d be outside and free from anyone listening in...they’d be safe. “Why tell me this? Why give me this?” This was an anvil dropped on Kira from the top of a fucking cliff, the heavyweight completely blindsided her. “We’re _not_ friends! I’m not your therapist!”

“You write music, I thought that this would be something good for your set” Megan sat down on the concrete, being extra sure to pull her skirt down so it wouldn’t ride up, “You clearly don’t listen to apologies...I want you to know that I am sorry from the bottom of my heart because I don’t want to be the cause of anyone feeling like _this_ ever again. Do you know what it’s like to be so humiliated?”

“Yeah, I do” Kira shook her head in disbelief, she hadn’t told a _soul_ what happened at the Gomez house that night, not even her parents. If Megan was laying down her cards about her shitty friend well, she could enlighten her on her ex. “I was caught making out with my girlfriend by her homophobic mom. Do you know what it feels like to be _dragged_ down a set of stairs by your hair?” Megan shook her head no, “To have a door slammed in your face? I _hate_ people like that woman. They’re _everywhere_ ” Kira had to run her fingers through her hair to calm herself down, “I feel like I have to fight _every_ fucking day, and it’s exhausting. People don’t look at _you_ with judgement in their eyes.”

“Sure they do” Megan patted the spot next to her, but Kira was too hyped up to sit, “They did at my old school. I was the slut that was too dumb to take a picture in a mirror and send it to her boyfriend” The redhead’s voice became shaky, she was holding onto her feelings just as much as Kira did. “I could _feel_ the stares, everyone had seen that photo. What I look like, every imperfection and insecurity. That’s out there _forever._ God and the _comments_ . Looks like the carpet matches the drapes” Disgusting. “It wasn’t even my _boyfriend_ it was one of my _best friends_ I trusted her with _everything_ and she didn’t care. “Is this the kind of girl you’d take home to mother?” It was _vile_ what she did to me”

“Ahh…...yeah she sounds like a major bitch-a-saurus” Kira finally sat down next to the emotionally distraught girl, Megan was sniffling to try and keep herself from ugly crying. A ginger who’s pale and wears mascara _cannot_ have that run due to a cry.

Megan had to take a moment to even understand what Kira had said, “What?”

“You’ll understand that better once it’s on itunes” Kira wasn’t the best at comforting people, she stared down to her feet, she hadn’t even noticed until right now that there was a hole in her shoe. “My ex-girlfriend ghosted me...hasn’t spoken to me since she left town...so I said fuck it. I unfriended her. It was just nice having someone around who _got_ it. I knew we couldn’t do long distance but she doesn’t even want to be friends...it sucks...”

“It’s her loss” The ex-cheerleader, rested back on her hands, it felt so great to get what was on her mind off of her chest. Writing poetry came easily when she really focused on how the betrayal made her feel. “You’re hot, you know, when you’re not being a total bitch” ...Wait a sec.

Kira turned her head back in the other girl’s direction, “You think I’m hot?”

Megan rolled her eyes, the blush creeping up her neck was working against her in this moment of trying to come off nonchalant. “Self centered much?”

Well, _interesting_ , the punk rocker also leaned back on her hands, “So back to you” She was curious about the rest of the bitch-story, cheerleaders sounded _awful_. “You’re a pretty girl” If Megan was going to shoot her a compliment, Kira could fire one back. “Harwood County should be your bitch”

A smile tugged on Megan’s lips at Kira calling her pretty, “At Angel Grove I was a big fish in a small pond...here...I’m _drowning_. With it being so far into the semester I couldn’t even get on the squad as an _alternate_. Cheerleading is my entire life but I have no team, I have _no one_. How do I even begin to trust people again after what she did to me? She was my friend for _years_ and you know what the worst part is? My _best_ friend from home...one I was friends with since we were in first grade turned into a monster. Someone I didn’t even recognize, she tormented this innocent girl in _my_ name. Do you know what that’s like?” To be some victim who needed avenging. “I can’t forgive her for what she’s done...I can’t be responsible for more people getting hurt”

“You can’t control what other people do” Yeah, this was definitely _not_ helping Kira’s opinion on cheerleaders if this was they way they treated one another. She sat up just enough so she could reach the other girl’s hand, giving it a gentle squeeze, “You have me” And with Kira came three boys in her band, “You’re not alone”

“......so what…? Are we friends now?” Her voice was _so_ small, the once standing tall Angel Grove cheerleader was reduced to a friendless nobody.

“Yeah, we’re friends” Kira folded up the piece of paper and put it in her back pocket for safekeeping. If Megan wanted her to make a song out of her poem, out of her pain, she’d do it. _Ptero-ing Me Apart_. Dinosaur puns were tough.

 

*****

Dino Thunder’s new releases was an absolute hit among Harwood County, as well as the internet. Kira and her open position on her sexuality was put on blast and the band was given plenty of opportunities to travel around to nearby cities to preform. Conner had gotten a call from the Rock Porium out in a town called Briarwood, that place was _legend_ so of course they booked the gig. They even had an opening act... _they_ were the headliners. Kira was suddenly getting more and more instagram followers over time, it was wild how quickly things had changed once they finally got their shit together and played. Kira had still been fine tuning Megan’s song, that one wasn’t _nearly_ ready yet...there was a lot of pressure to get that one done right.

What Kira didn’t expect, now that she was on top of the world was to be on stage and see the _one_ person she wasn’t expecting. Seeing Trini out there in the audience hit Kira like a goddamn truck. What was worse was that some other girl’s arms were wrapped around her. All of those _feelings_ of being dejected trash just came up again. Oh ho, there was a LOT she needed to get off of her chest. Mostly the beginning of their act consisted of covers, she wasn’t ready yet to lay down the bitch-a-saurus hammer.

At the chance of a break, Kira stormed the bar to confront Trini and her new _gal pal_ oh right. Girlfriend. Trini was out and about openly _dating_ someone. Kimberly Hart, the girl from the baseball, the girl from facebook. The cheerleader. Ha, to think Megan was apart of the same cheer squad. What a small world. Ugh. Kim was being _nice_ to her, she didn’t deserve the anger boiling inside...her beef was with Trini. So the two had to take things upstairs. That was when Kira unloaded _everything_ she had been holding back. Trini just _decided_ that it would be easier on Kira if she just wasn’t apart of her life anymore. If she didn’t feel like a _stain_ on her ex-girlfriend’s life before. Was she fucking kidding? Oh and her mom was “better now”, Trini _really_ had the audacity to defend the woman that destroyed her? Humiliated her? No. That wasn’t cool. After _months_ Trini finally asked if she was okay? No. She wasn’t okay….she was _pissed._

Was it petty to sing the song inspired by Trini and her mother right in front of her? Hell yeah but _oh_ did it feel good. Kimberly had left her, and now Trini couldn’t stomach listening to the rest of the song she left the club with some guy to take her home.

The rest of that night was _wild_ their performance went off without a hitch. Conner congratulated her that night saying it was the most into it he’s ever seen. Yeah, seeing an ex could really get the adrenaline pumping. As the Dino Thunder van made it’s _long_ trip back to Harwood County, Kira texted Megan, her poor friend was too sick to make the trip. She had come down with a horrible stomach flu.

 _Kira Ford: 11:32  
_ _Sorry if this wakes you. I hope you’re feeling better. Saw Trini...guess who has a new girlfriend? She’s dating some chick on the cheerleading squad, you might know her. Kimberly Hart? I freaking snapped._

It wasn’t until the next morning she received a text message from the recovering redhead. So Kira changed her contact name from Megan Faherty to something more fun over time.

 _Ginger Spice: 8:36  
_ _We need to talk._

Kira had to call Megan as soon as she got the message, with the redhead out of school for another day the only easy way of getting in touch with the former cheerleader was by calling her directly. She was _not_ going to risk her vocal chords by going over to visit the sick girl at home. Megan told her _everything_ , Kira thought she had all the information but there was still gaps missing. Oh yeah, Megan knew Trini’s new girlfriend well...Kimberly Hart was the one that sent out that photo. Kira’s heart sank in her chest when she heard _that_ she felt like such a chump, this girl was right in front of her and she didn’t say or do anything.

Megan then went on to explaining what Rebecca had done, how she sifted through Kira’s instagram to put the photo of her kissing Trini on full blast. Outing her to the entire school in the worst possible way. Maybe if she had listened earlier and stopped being a dick, Kira would’ve gotten that story earlier. What the fuck was wrong with these cheerleaders? All of this and Trini still didn’t think of sending her a call? It was her god damn instagram account that was used for a widespread attack. Oh right. It was supposed to be _easier_ on Kira if Trini never talked to her again, that she’d be able to move on with her life. How self sacrificing and noble. She had to do _something_.

Kira _may’ve_ unfriended Trini from Facebook but over the time of Dino Thunder getting more popular she’d been accepting more and more friend requests from people who were fans of her music. In particular Antonio Garcia and Mia Watanabe...one friended her for her music the other frinded her because she was the president of the some gay straight alliance club in Angel Grove. Okay that was kind of cool. It was on Mia’s page where she found photos of what exactly the new couple had been up to. Mia the supportive girlfriend of Lauren Shiba took pictures from the stands and posted them online for all her friends to see. Softball? Well, that was gay, Trini had gone _jock_ with the new girlfriend...how much did she have to change herself in order to date this so called Kimberly Hart? What made her so fucking special? It turned out that, Kira really didn’t know her ex-girlfriend all that well. As fate would have it Angel Grove’s next game was in Harwood County...Trini was coming to _her_ turf now. It was time for some action.

Kira knew _nothing_ about softball, but that didn’t matter, she had the boys come with her. She needed numbers and if she was going to be the petty bitch well it was good to have the backup. Apparently high school softball only lasted _six_ innings and not the regular _nine_ so by coming in during the fifth inning and sitting behind home plate really didn’t give her much time. With the title of _ex-girlfriend_ it wasn’t too hard to get under Kimberly’s skin. With a cheeky grin and a wave she made herself known to the sophomore pitcher on the mound. Pitching was _all_ about a mind game and Kira was here to play ball.

“Oh we’re losing” Conner frowned, as the former athlete of the group he _actually_ knew what was going on in the game. Kira didn’t give a fuck about Monarch pride and that stupid team, even if she liked their coach Dimitria Divatox.

“So...softball…” Trent had been sitting next to Kira, she was the expert of the group of gay girl activities so he thought it wouldn’t hurt to ask, “How many of them do you think are...y’know?”

“In the closet?” From what Megan had told her, she had never met a gay person before so it didn’t sound like Angel Grove was crawling with the openness. Kira pointed out to center field, which made it look like she was pointing at Kimberly from the players perspectives and whispering about her to her friends. “That one out there’s gay” She only knew _that_ from creeping on Mia Watanabe’s page, the team captain of the softball team dating the president of the GSA, it couldn’t get much gayer than that. “Probably others” Lauren Shiba was the only one she knew for _sure_ . Kira couldn’t help but notice the constant exchanges between Dimitria Divatox and the Angel Grove coach. Every smirk, every glance over the field, every exchange seemed like it meant more than just two coaches on a softball field. That only _screamed_ gay...Megan said it best, the word Kira was looking for was _hatefuck._ Ms. Divatox only became _that_ much cooler in the eyes of the musician.

The wavy haired blonde standing behind Kimberly at second base was glaring daggers up to Kira and her buddies. That only made trying to flirt with her from a distance even more fun, she sure _hoped_ that she was gay, though, really nothing would come from that. As long as she didn’t _say_ anything too loudly the umpire behind home plate would be none the wiser, _she_ wouldn’t be getting into trouble for taunting. Kimberly was pitching _so_ off that Angel Grove needed to huddle up their infield. The princess looked _so_ angry with Trini that Kira even showed up here. Hey, if those two showed up at a concert to blindside Kira she was going to return the favor by coming to their show. It was only _fair_. She couldn’t believe this was the girl who sent out a photo and destroyed a friends life…

Oh Angel Grove quickly put in a new pitcher to end the game, _she_ wasn’t as fun to mess with. Their damage was done, she knocked Kimberly off her horse and rattled Trini’s cage. Not that points mattered to Kira, but the Harwood County Monarchs lost the softball game and the Tigers soon had to pack up and leave for their trip back home. As the band headed out, Trini was going to make sure she got the last word in by confronting her ex-girlfriend.

“You know what? No. I stood there and took it while you unloaded all of your personal damage. I’m sorry! I really am for what happened between us. But now you’re just going out of your way to be a petty bitch. Grow up! Get over it! I go my way you go yours.” Kira folded her arms, shaking her head, so _now_ Trini had the guts to stand up to some opposition. “You stay the hell away from _me_ and you especially stay the hell away from my _team_ my _girlfriend._ Leave them out of this.” So, Trini had grown up, she was willing to fight for Kimberly in ways that she wouldn’t stand up for Kira...if only Kim deserved it.

Kira clenched her jaw, the rest of Trini’s team was starting to come over now and she didn’t want to deal with a _pack_ of jocks. No, she couldn’t keep doing this, to be that bitch to drag out a break up with Trini. They lived an hour away, they had their own little gay life and even if Kira wanted to stomp the hell out of Kimberly for what she did to her new friend...what good would that do? Megan didn’t want anyone to get hurt over her, not anymore, this fight wasn’t worth it in the end so she was the one to give in, “C’mon. Let’s go.” She grabbed Trent’s shoulder to turn them away. “This place is lame anyway” The redhead wouldn't be able to heal if old wounds opened up again. She was scarred badly enough from this whole ordeal. That was it, this was _over_. Kira and Trini both deserved to be happy in a world that wasn’t totally ready for their kind of love...they had to deal with enough opposition as it was, being petty wasn't going to get Kira anywhere. When Kira got into the back of Conner’s van she pulled out a notebook that she kept under the seat, she liked to keep notebooks around their spaces whenever she would get inspired by something. Right now all she wanted to do was write...she could text Megan about all of this later. She just really wanted to see what this Kimberly girl was all about.

“What’re you writing about?” Ethan asked his friend curiously, the van already making it’s way off of Harwood County High’s camping.

Kira sighed, something she should have done a long time ago, “Healing” She had to let go...of Mrs. Gomez, of Trini, of all of the anger she carried inside of her for something that happened months ago. Maybe Junester did get better, if she did, well she was happy Trini could be brave enough to be out...even if it’s with an awful human being. Through the pain of a break up, Kira was able to find friends in these three guys...Conner, Trent, Ethan they made music they had _fun_ again. Then there was the unexpected surprise of Megan Faherty...a cheerleader who lost her way...there was still hope for her and her tragic taste in music.

It was time to move on.

**Author's Note:**

> I know this one was kinda rough on Kim and Trini but they're not always the good guys to everyone. I will be returning to the main story for chapter 18 of Wild Pitch so that will be where the next update is.


End file.
